Grandad’s Camper

A brown-skinned child with shoulder-length curls narrates a story focused on sharing grief and celebrating loved ones’ lives in Woodgate’s author-illustrator debut. The unnamed protagonist spends every summer at Grandad’s seaside cottage, where their favorite activity is listening “as Grandad tells me about all of the amazing places he and Gramps would explore” in a pink camper. Grandad, who is white, relays beachside adventures, city visits, and other trips with brown-skinned Gramps before the narrator comes up with an idea to honor Gramps’s memory. Woodgate layers colored pencil, marker, and crayon-esque textures with digital patterns and techniques, making for a kid-friendly style that also spotlights queer iconography, such as rainbow flags and reclaimed inverted pink triangles. If the book focuses more on the grandparents’ relationship than the one between Grandad and child, this gentle intergenerational narrative encourages adults to disseminate family stories and traditions. Ages 3–6. [em](Apr.) [/em]